State Attorney General Skip Humphrey's lawsuit against big tobacco interests is going to trial. But critics of his contract with the firm that is arguing the case, the Minneapolis law firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi, say that private lawyers could get rich at the expense of state taxpayers.

CRITICS SAY THE FIRM stands to earn as much as $1 billion if the state
is awarded or settles on an amount of $4 billion. It's an estimate some
think is conservative. If the firm divides up the $1 billion among the 63
partners, as is often the practice, each would get close to $16 million.

But lead attorney on the case, Michael Ciresi, says when the firm agreed to
help mount the state's case, the lawsuit was a gamble. The firm
risked mostly its own money - and no state money - in return for 25 percent of
any award or settlement, plus expenses. He says no other Minnesota firm was
willing to get involved.

Ciresi: In fact four months ago when I was speaking to a conference of attorneys I asked for a show of hands of who'd get involved, and not one raised their hands
because of the risk in these kinds of cases.

The governor and his cabinet members, who favor a national settlement, have
criticized the agreement. Commerce Commissioner Dave Gruenes is among
those in the administration who called upon the office of the legislative
auditor to review the arrangement. He says, Minnesotans deserve to know both
the size and the details of the money the firm might collect.

Gruenes: Certainly the amount of time this firm has put in this case has been a
lot, but the discussion over appropriate legal fees is appropriate to have. No
one has envisioned a settlement or litigation of this magnitude, it's never been
done before. I believe when people learn the state has contracted out, and upon
a win or settlement the firm could get upwards of $1 billion, most
people will think that's excessive.

The attorney general is not required to seek legislative approval of the
agreement with the law firm. But Republican senator Sheila Kiscaden, who sits
on the Legislative Audit Commission, says the administration and the
legislature still have a right to know what size of bill is being run up by the
law firm.

Kiscaden: And what kind of oversight do we have to monitor those expenses, because
ultimately the taxpayer has to pay them? They either pay them directly, or
they'll pay them by not having the revenue come to the state by any
settlement or award that's given.

Humphrey says if the state wins the case, he'll ask the judge to add the law
firm's fees to any damage award rather than deduct it from whatever the
state and Blue Cross/Blue Shield wins. In addition, Michael Ciresi considers
the estimated $1 billion that the governor and others have predicted
the law firm would collect, to be early speculation.

Ciresi: it's premature to discuss attorney's fees with no result at this time. I will say
this: those who have bandied about figures like $1 billion don't know
what they're talking about. In fact, anyone who says $1 billion is
a flat out a liar ... because that will never happen.

Critics argue their $1 billion estimate for the firm is not unrealistic.
They point to a recent settlement in Texas that was four times that amount.

Humphrey stands to reap immeasurable campaign benefits from a successful suit.
But he denies a political connection between his arrangement with the firm and
his own gubernatorial aspirations. The firm has already contributed $4,000
to his campaign, and his critics say Humphrey is taking care of trial
lawyers who - through the Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association PAC fund -
strongly support DFL candidates.

But the president of the association, Carla Wahl, says the organization is
bi-partisan. She adds, the agreement with the outside law firm is being
politicized by Humphrey's gubernatorial foes.

Wahl: And I think it deflects from the responsibility which should be imposed on
the tobacco industry and the tremendous efforts in Minnesota to rectify and
protect the rights of Minnesotans. So I think the fee issue is really a red
herring.

Humphrey says he's not motivated in this case by gubernatorial aspirations.

Humphrey: The political pundits who are friends of mine have said, "Well, Skip, that's a
nice thing you're going to do. I hope you feel real good because you're done
politically." The fact is, in terms of political timing, it just happened. Our
first request for a court date was last January. The tobacco industry wanted
it to start in December of next year. The court happened to say we'll start
in January of 98 ... that wasn't done by Humphrey or the tobacco companies, it
was done by the court.

The office of the legislative auditor is expected to complete its preliminary
assessment of the attorney general's contract with the law firm by
Tuesday, and decide whether to go ahead with a full-scale review.